Review

Review Summary: Over forty minutes of aural genocide that will rouse us whites to take up arms for the good of our race!

To arms, my brothers! Arghoslent is here to lead us in our plight to quell the simian surge of political correctness and racial equality yet again with their 2008 opus, Hornets of the Pogrom. Arghoslent never were a band to follow the path laid down in front of them, even going so far as to proclaim themselves as an 'arrogant band', and Hornets of the Pogrom continues their legacy of arrogance and bigotry with not only some of the best death metal I've heard in a long time, but also easily one of the best death metal albums of the decade thus far.

I know it's been said a million times, but Arghoslent plays a very unique brand of death metal, owing as much to blues and traditional heavy metal as it does to early 90's style death metal. This gives them alot of room to explore off of the previously trodden path, and they most definitely use the expanses of all of their influences to the fullest and most fitting potential here, from the crushing death metal riffs to the bluesy solos to the galloping heavy metal rhythms and melody. Each song is completely memorable and different from the last while keeping their same signature style intact, and each one feels like its own epic journey through historical events that were shoved under the rug and forgotten.

Pretty much everything about Hornets of the Pogrom is a vast improvement on Arghoslent's already winning formula they explored on their previous releases. The songwriting, riffs, vocals, lyrics, drumming, literally everything is completely flawless and top-notch. Instead of each song being simply a collection of riffs flowing through each other, essentially a 'riff salad' like on their other releases, the songs seem to be structured much more logically and with thematic continuity in mind. For instance, in "Swill of the Knaves", each riff builds off of the opening one in a thematically sensible way and the song flows perfectly from one movement to the next. Also, my personal favorite track, "The Nubian Archer" completely rewrites the book on how to write a song, showing how well Arghoslent pays attention to buildup, climax, letdown, dynamics and general ass-kickery. The drumming and vocals are the essential pieces holding the songs together, both performed impeccably and fitting with the intensity of the riffs. The vocals, performed by the Genocider, deliver the extremely well-written lyrics with passion and conviction not previously heard of, with close attention paid to annunciation while remaining guttural as hell. The drums, like said before, always compliment the riffs well, with a mix of blastbeats and lots of creative, yet simple beats that add alot to the songs.

I could go on for hours but you get the point. Hornets of the Pogrom is one of the best death metal albums I've heard and is among the top death metal albums released this decade. Arghoslent have proven to their politically correct detractors with Hornets of the Pogrom that despite their 'radical' ideologies ('gimmicks' as some say), they still write music that exceeds all previous standards of quality and stands completely on its own. Hail Arghoslent!